AUSTIN Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today announced his Fugitive Unit has arrested five convicted sex offenders who violated the terms of their parole on Halloween night.

Arrested were Christopher Alan Cook, 31, of Alvarado; Joe Sanchez Martinez, 49, of Fort Worth; Mike Klause Nobles, 63, of Lampasas; Robert Earl Simpson Jr., 35, of Dallas; and Roberto Soto, 60, of Copperas Cove. The arrests were made as part of Operation Safe Halloween, a special initiative between the Attorney General’s Fugitive Unit and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to track down child sex offenders who ignored the instructions of their parole officers.

These child sex offenders were given specific guidelines to steer them clear of children on Halloween night. They disregarded those instructions and my Fugitive Unit has put them behind bars, Attorney General Abbott said. Child predators are a potential threat every day of the year, but we must be extra vigilant at times like Halloween when many children are on the streets. I thank the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for their partnership in bringing these fugitives to justice.

Despite being instructed by his parole officer that he was to keep all the lights off at the front of his house on Halloween night, Nobles violated those instructions by turning on his porch light and at least one other light inside the front of his house. Illuminating the front of one’s house is the common signal to trick-or-treaters that they can approach a house on Halloween night.

Nobles was arrested on Nov. 1 after his parole officer notified the Fugitive Unit that the lights were on at the front of Nobles’ house on Halloween night. He is currently in the Lampasas County Jail. In 1986, Nobles was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted in Lampasas County of aggravated sexual assault of a 10-year-old boy. He was paroled in March 2004.

Information on the other registered sex offenders:

Cook was arrested Nov. 1 at his residence in Alvarado. On Oct. 31, TDCJ issued a warrant for Cook’s arrest for violating his Halloween-related curfew. Cook was convicted in Johnson County in 1993 of indecency with a child by sexual contact and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was paroled on March 1, 2005.

A warrant was issued for Martinez’s arrest on Oct. 31 when he was not at home during his mandatory Halloween curfew hours. The Fugitive Unit arrested him at his Fort Worth residence on Nov. 1. Martinez was convicted in Bexar County in 1998 of indecency with a child by sexual contact and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The victim was a 12-year-old girl. Martinez was paroled on Oct. 18, 2002.

The Fugitive Unit arrested Simpson on Nov. 2 at his place of employment in Farmers Branch. A warrant for his arrest was issued on Oct. 31 for violating his Halloween-related curfew. Simpson was convicted in Jefferson County in 1992 of sexual assault of a child and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The victim was a 16-year-old girl. Simpson was convicted in Navarro County in 2003 of unlawful possession of metal or body armor by a felon and was sentenced to two years in prison. Simpson was paroled on June 16, 2005, on the 2003 conviction.

Soto was arrested on Nov. 1 at his residence in Copperas Cove after a warrant was issued Oct. 31. He had his front porch light on, in violation of his Halloween-related parole requirements. Soto was sentenced to 45 years in prison after being convicted in Atascosa County in 1986 of aggravated sexual assault of a child. The victim was a 4-year-old girl. Soto was paroled on Jan 14, 2003.

Cracking down on sexual predators is a top priority of Attorney General Abbott’s administration. His Cyber Crimes and Fugitive units have arrested more than 350 sexual predators since he took office in December 2002. The Fugitive Unit, which locates convicted child sex offenders who have violated the terms of their parole and could be stalking children, has arrested 250 of these parolees. The Cyber Crimes Unit has made 67 arrests to date. In addition, the Fugitive Unit has arrested 36 unregistered sex offenders as part of Operation Missing Predator, a statewide initiative launched in April to locate and arrest convicted sex offenders who are not in compliance with sex offender registration requirements.

To find out more about Attorney General Abbott’s efforts to crack down on sexual predators, visit the Attorney General’s Web site at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov or call (800) 252-8011.